The burden of prosecution rested with Boards of Guardians, popularly elected bodies, and what board was likely to go to the trouble of working up a case and to the expense of bringing it before the court, when, to produce a complete defence, the defendant need only declare that he had a conscientious objection to the law under which the information was laid against him?
Many idle or obstinate or prejudiced people would develop conscientious objections to anything which gives trouble or that they happen to dislike.

For instance, if the same principle were applied to education, I believe that within a very few years not twenty-five per cent.

of the children belonging to the classes that are educated out of the rates would ever pass the School Board standards.
Thus it came about that the harvest was ripe, and over ripe, awaiting only the appointed sickle of disease.

Once or twice already that sickle had been put in, but always before the reaping began it was stayed by the application of the terrible rule of isolation known as the improved Leicester system.
Among some of the natives of Africa when smallpox breaks out in a kraal, that kraal is surrounded by guards and its inhabitants are left to recover or perish, to starve or to feed themselves as chance and circumstance may dictate.

During the absence of the smallpox laws the same plan, more mercifully applied, prevailed in England, and thus the evil hour was postponed.